Vaccination hesitancy, refusal and related factors in parents of children under five in the city center of Tokat

This research which is of descriptive cross-sectional research; It was determined the frequency of vaccine hesitation and vaccine rejection and related factors in parents of children under the age of five living in the city center of Tokat. The study is the first to be conducted parents with children under the age of five using the WHO SAGE "Vaccine Hesitation Questionnaire" and "Vaccine Hesitation Scale". The study was conducted with 402 parents with children under the age of five. As a data collection tool; the "Vaccine Hesitation Questionnaire" and "Vaccine Hesitation Scale" developed by who SAGE Vaccine Hesitation Working Group was used with the questionnaire form containing descriptive questions about parents and children. Additional of the study sample for validity and reliability analysis of the Vaccine Hesitation Scale also interviewed 200 parents with children under five. As a result of Validator Factor Analysis, the scale has a single-factor structure consisting of seven substances and is Cronbach α=0.83. 19.7% of parents have hesitations about childhood vaccines. The rejection rate for recommended vaccines (special or free vaccines) is 18.2%. The rate of those who refuse all the vaccines offered free of charge by the Ministry of Health is 0.7%. Being a father from parents, advanced parental age, good economic situation, having a bachelor's and above education are associated with vaccine hesitation at the level of statistical significance. There is a statistically significant relationship between vaccine refusal and parental education level of being undergraduate or higher. Each unit increase in the post-vaccine side effects in the children of the participants increases the probability of having hesitations about vaccination 1.9 times. Those who do not believe that vaccines will protect children from serious diseases are 4.6 times more likely to be vaccinated than those who believe. Hearing or reading negative information about vaccines increases the likelihood of vaccine hesitancy by 13.5 times. Parents' Vaccine Hesitation Scale score is 1.86±0.53. Accordingly, the vaccine hesitation level of the participants is low. According to the results of the research, vaccine hesitancy and rejection have a complex structure affected by many factors. For this reason, more comprehensive studies should be conducted by using the "Vaccine Hesitation Questionnaire" and "Vaccination Hesitation Scale" developed by the WHO SAGE Vaccine Hesitancy Working Group, taking into account the factors identified in this study. To overcome vaccine hesitation and rejection, appropriate strategies should be determined in the light of scientific data.